In a very uncharacteristic move, I decided to go Xmas shopping on Sunday. (Usually I'm one of those maniacs running around two days before the holiday, buying gift certificates.) But I made a grave tactical error-- items on my list included a CD and a book, so I decided to go to Portsmouth, and... well... you can probably guess what happened next. Wait until while I hang my head in shame... yes, I left Portsmouth after several hours at Bullmoose Records and River Run Books with 6 CD's and 2 books-- for myself-- and no Xmas presents purchased. In my defense, I did LOOK for the 2 items on my list, they just weren't in stock. I know, I know, no excuse. But it does mean another spree list for the blog, so here goes:
(in alphabetical order)
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Let Love In: When the weather starts to turn cold and grey, Nick just sounds so darn good. Let's face it, a girl can't have too much Nick Cave when staring down a New England winter.
The Cloud Room, The Cloud Room: A band from Michaela's former haunt, Brooklyn. A lot of people seem to like comparing them to Arcade Fire. Probably not a bad comparison. The lead singer has a bit of Bowie to him, I think-- and there's nothing wrong with that.
Doves, Lost souls: Still doing some buying to replace albums lost in the "divorce". Think this oughta do it for the Doves collection.
Elbow, Asleep in the Back: Ditto the explanation for the Doves purchase. Plus, Guy Garvey has the most amazing, ethereal voice-- it gives me chills.
of Montreal, Satanic Panic in the Attic: Yes, the obsession rages on. This one is slightly less disco-rific than the newer one, with a somewhat less "produced" sound, but no less superfantastic. They must tour again soon, and I must be there.
OK Go, Oh No: The video for the single A Million Ways features the band doing a horrible line dance of sorts in their backyard-- it looks like it cost about $50 to make, and is utterly hilarious. It also doesn't hurt that lead singer Damian Kulash is completely swoonworthy. Fun, fun, fun.
OK, alright. I'm heading out Xmas shopping again on Saturday with Mom-- and this time I will NOT buy anything for myself. We're going to Kittery, so that should be safe, right? ...
11.30.2005
11.24.2005
Geek Novels...
The Guardian recently published a list of the Top 20 Geek Novels (here):
I'm going to bet that Karen will have read more of these books than I have (only read 7 of the 20). There were quite a few books that I'd never heard of, too. But the winner, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, is probably one of my favorite books of all time, and it made me happy to see at the top of the list. :)
I'm going to bet that Karen will have read more of these books than I have (only read 7 of the 20). There were quite a few books that I'd never heard of, too. But the winner, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, is probably one of my favorite books of all time, and it made me happy to see at the top of the list. :)
11.08.2005
Operation "Bearing Witness"
You know how, every once and a while, someone comes up with an idea that takes your breath away and? Well, last week, Stephen e-mailed me to suggest that instead of sending out holiday cards this year, we write just the name, military branch, home town, age, and date of death of the 2,000 soldiers who had died in Iraq, on plain cards and mail them to the White House.
After talking about how to take on this project, we decided that instead of creating cards with the names of the 2,000 people who had already died and sending them in one mailing, we would start with the 96 people who had lost their lives in the month of October, and at the end of each month, would gather the names from the New York Times' "Roster of the Dead" to create and mail cards.
Here is what the card and envelope look like (the back flap of the envelope reads "Opeartion Bearing Witness":
And here are tonight's cards:
There is incredible power in names, in writing by hand in the act of bearing witness. We do not hold out hope that receiving the names of the dead will make the war stop. But we do hope that whoever at the White House opens these envelopes will read the names and reflect for a moment on the impact of our country's actions.
After talking about how to take on this project, we decided that instead of creating cards with the names of the 2,000 people who had already died and sending them in one mailing, we would start with the 96 people who had lost their lives in the month of October, and at the end of each month, would gather the names from the New York Times' "Roster of the Dead" to create and mail cards.
Here is what the card and envelope look like (the back flap of the envelope reads "Opeartion Bearing Witness":
And here are tonight's cards:
There is incredible power in names, in writing by hand in the act of bearing witness. We do not hold out hope that receiving the names of the dead will make the war stop. But we do hope that whoever at the White House opens these envelopes will read the names and reflect for a moment on the impact of our country's actions.
Sunday Night with the Geek Squad
What's geekier than going to a Yes concert? Going to a Jon Anderson SOLO show! Anyone who has known me for any length of time knows my obsession with that "elfin voice" (as my mother says) but fellow Yes fans can be a little creepy in their devotion. (And coming from me, that's saying something!) Going to a solo show has to move one to a whole other level on the scale.
Now, to be perfectly honest, I have to admit to being less than satisfied by the Yes-men of late. Although they are always a great band to see live, there are only so many times you can hear the same version of Roundabout without wishing they'd mix it up a little, and the last really decent album they put out was The Ladder, which was quite awhile ago. And so there was a part of me that thought this show would be more amusing than anything else-- it was mostly the thought of being able to see Jon at such close range (show was at Avalon) that was too tempting to give up. Anyway, I bought two tickets, and bribed the famed "little bro" to come with.
The crowd was as I expected-- little bro and I were just about the youngest ones there by 10-15 years. Various audience members lamented the addition of Trevor Rabin to the line-up in the 80's. (Two things, people: 1. Yes probably wouldn't still be an entity if he hadn't revitalised the group back then, and 2. That was 20 years ago now, GET OVER IT.) Many insisted on shouting out names of classic Yes tunes at inappropriate times. I lamented having to be associated with these particular people.
But, the music? I went prepared to be amused, and maybe even disappointed. The reality... Jon did what I've wanted Yes to do for several years now-- play some new stuff with energy, and find a way to make the old stuff interesting to someone who has heard it many times over. I am in love again.
Now, to be perfectly honest, I have to admit to being less than satisfied by the Yes-men of late. Although they are always a great band to see live, there are only so many times you can hear the same version of Roundabout without wishing they'd mix it up a little, and the last really decent album they put out was The Ladder, which was quite awhile ago. And so there was a part of me that thought this show would be more amusing than anything else-- it was mostly the thought of being able to see Jon at such close range (show was at Avalon) that was too tempting to give up. Anyway, I bought two tickets, and bribed the famed "little bro" to come with.
The crowd was as I expected-- little bro and I were just about the youngest ones there by 10-15 years. Various audience members lamented the addition of Trevor Rabin to the line-up in the 80's. (Two things, people: 1. Yes probably wouldn't still be an entity if he hadn't revitalised the group back then, and 2. That was 20 years ago now, GET OVER IT.) Many insisted on shouting out names of classic Yes tunes at inappropriate times. I lamented having to be associated with these particular people.
But, the music? I went prepared to be amused, and maybe even disappointed. The reality... Jon did what I've wanted Yes to do for several years now-- play some new stuff with energy, and find a way to make the old stuff interesting to someone who has heard it many times over. I am in love again.
P.S. Sorry for the horrifying formatting in the previous post, I seem to be having trouble getting the paragraph breaks to publish consistently. See, now it's happening again-- this P.S. is supposed to have a break between it and the last paragraph... Kla, any clues?
11.03.2005
Working on the Weekend
So, with all the craziness at work lately, I had gotten a bit behind on reviews for a couple of staff members-- something I struggle very hard not to do, but it's difficult with 15 people reporting to you. After trying unsuccessfully to block off time to get them completed during work hours last week, I begrudgingly came to terms with the fact that I was going to have to take time out of my weekend to write them.
Then, spent Saturday watching it snow. YES, SNOW. And not just your typical October flurry-- we're talking several hours of steady snow. By mid-afternoon there were over 2 inches on the ground and the streets were even starting to get slick. I'm sorry to say I used this as an excuse to curl up on my sofa with a book instead of my reviews. (Bad, bad manager.) Promised myself I would do them on Sunday come hell or high water (or blizzard) even if it meant I had to actually drive to the office to get myself to focus on them.
Sunday arrives-- epiphany! (And not in the liturgical sense.) I realize that I cannot focus on work in my apartment, there are just too many distractions. (Read: bbc america) But also realize that the solution does not have to include the office-- I just need to find a place to concentrate, and there's no reason it can't be someplace fun. I choose North Conway. Perhaps not the most environmental of choices considering the current gas crisis, but... the pull of several hours in the car with nothing to do but listen to my new CD's wins out. And it is an incredibly beautiful day for a drive-- snow Saturday, warm and sunny on Sunday. Gotta love New England.
Halfway up Route 16, I happen on the ubiquitous "moose crossing" sign. I scoff to the invisible passenger next to me. "Moose crossing, right! I have been to New Hampshire hundreds of times over the years, and I have never ONCE seen a moose-- nor do I ever expect to. Hmph!" Three miles later, cars swerve off the road, drivers leap out, some clutching cameras. Yup, you guessed it-- MOOSE. Not a very big one, I'd estimate it was just a teenager but, nonetheless, there he/she was-- crossing the road, just a stone's throw from my car. Enter Twilight Zone theme here...
And yes, yes, I did actually complete my overdue reviews-- ensconced on the hood of my car in a parking lot overlooking Crawford Notch. Who says work has to be dreary?
Then, spent Saturday watching it snow. YES, SNOW. And not just your typical October flurry-- we're talking several hours of steady snow. By mid-afternoon there were over 2 inches on the ground and the streets were even starting to get slick. I'm sorry to say I used this as an excuse to curl up on my sofa with a book instead of my reviews. (Bad, bad manager.) Promised myself I would do them on Sunday come hell or high water (or blizzard) even if it meant I had to actually drive to the office to get myself to focus on them.
Sunday arrives-- epiphany! (And not in the liturgical sense.) I realize that I cannot focus on work in my apartment, there are just too many distractions. (Read: bbc america) But also realize that the solution does not have to include the office-- I just need to find a place to concentrate, and there's no reason it can't be someplace fun. I choose North Conway. Perhaps not the most environmental of choices considering the current gas crisis, but... the pull of several hours in the car with nothing to do but listen to my new CD's wins out. And it is an incredibly beautiful day for a drive-- snow Saturday, warm and sunny on Sunday. Gotta love New England.
Halfway up Route 16, I happen on the ubiquitous "moose crossing" sign. I scoff to the invisible passenger next to me. "Moose crossing, right! I have been to New Hampshire hundreds of times over the years, and I have never ONCE seen a moose-- nor do I ever expect to. Hmph!" Three miles later, cars swerve off the road, drivers leap out, some clutching cameras. Yup, you guessed it-- MOOSE. Not a very big one, I'd estimate it was just a teenager but, nonetheless, there he/she was-- crossing the road, just a stone's throw from my car. Enter Twilight Zone theme here...
And yes, yes, I did actually complete my overdue reviews-- ensconced on the hood of my car in a parking lot overlooking Crawford Notch. Who says work has to be dreary?
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